by Jason Dean
After a two-year hiatus, The Orcas Island Wrestling Club is back in action and attended its first tournament of the year earlier this month.
On Dec. 4, the Mount Vernon High School hosted the WWKWL Mount Vernon Pitbull Classic with 35 Western Washington teams showing up to test their skills on the mat. OIWC attended the tournament with 10 of their athletes, some of whom have only been wrestling for two months, and the results show the club can hold its own.
The club won 16 of their 29 matches bringing home three 1st place medals, two for 2nd place, three for 3rd place and two for 4th place. Ten of the team’s victories were won by a pin and six were won by “decision” with the wrestler outscoring their opponent.
Matches consist of three one-minute rounds between wrestlers of similar age/weight and are typically won either by “decision” or points or by “fall” meaning pin. In the event that a match goes all three rounds and the score is tied there is a “sudden death” round wherein the first point scored determines the winner. Each Bracket will list the athletes’ age followed by the bracket designation then the weight of the wrestler. For example, 8U Bantam 52-54 means the wrestler is 7-8 years old and weighs between 52-54 pounds. 10U is 9-10 years of age and 12U is 11-12 and so on.
Anthony “Louie” Averna won his division (8U Bantam 52-54), after winning his first two matches (8-4, 8-6) and his third match by pinning his opponent in the last second of the third round.
In the 10U Intermediate 52-54 division, Aria Griffin earned fourth place after losing her three hard-fought matches by decision (8-5, 11-2 and 13-11) going the distance every time in her first-ever tournament.
Giovanni Averna (10U Intermediate 57-58) took third place in his division winning his first two matches by decision (16-9, 5-2) and losing his third match (6-2).
In the 10U Intermediate 65-67 division, Mckinley Meester placed fourth getting pinned in his first match and losing his second and third by decision (6-2, 5-3).
Douglas Kirby (10U Intermediate 73-74) lost his first match by a pin but came back to pin his second and third opponents in 11 seconds and 29 seconds earning himself second place in his division.
Cash Wolfe won his division (12U Novice 77-82) after pinning his first opponent, then beating his second by decision (13-7), and finally pinning his third in 23 seconds.
In the 12U Novice 88-92 division, Ty Nuñez also took first place pinning all three of his opponents in the first round. His final match only lasted 6 seconds.
Diego Puentes (12U Novice 94-96) placed third in his division, pinning his first opponent in the second round then losing his second and third matches by a pin.
In the 12U Novice 122-124 division, Mario Nuñez placed third, losing his first two matches by pin then winning his last in a sudden death victory 6-4.
Eliot Paulsen took second place in his division (12U Novice 137-141) getting pinned by his first opponent then beating his second opponent with a pin at the 30-second mark.
The Orcas Island Wrestling Club has been teaching boys and girls ages 5-18 the sport of wrestling since the club was established in 2010. The OIWC is a nonprofit organization that functions solely upon donations and fundraising efforts created by members and the volunteer coaching staff.
The mission of the OIWC is to teach the sport of wrestling to youth and allow them the opportunity to compete at tournament levels. The goal of the club is to increase the development of youth and establish practices of sportsmanship, discipline, mental toughness and camaraderie. Please feel free to check out our Facebook Page Orcas Island Wrestling for updates and info on our team. If you have any questions or would like more information please contact us via email at Orcaswreslting@gmail.com and one of our awesome coaches will be glad to help.
